The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-12-30
COIN CERTIFICATES.
The Bill For the Relief of the
Mining Industry.
SENATOR STEWARDS SPEECH
The Nevada Senator in Support of the
Bill Recently Introduced by
Him in Congress-,

In the United States Senate, on tn
18th instant, Senator Stewart, of Ne
vada, delivered the speech printed be
low, in explanation of his bill herewith
published. We copy from the Congress
siOnaI Record:
Nh. STEWART move to take III
Senate bill 40.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore.- Thu
Senator from Nevada moves that thu
Senate proceed to the consideration O.
a bill the title of which will be stated.
TIE SEcRETARY.-A bill Is. 400 tC
provide for the issuance of coin GER
titicates to circulate as money.
The motion was agreed o; and the
Senate, as in committee of the whole
proceeded to consider the bill.
Nh, STEWART Il should like to have
the bill read through, as it is short.
The PRESIDENT pro tenlpOre,-lt there
be no objection, the bill will be read a
length.
The secretary read the bill, as fol-
| lows
Be ii enacted etc, That any person may
deposit at any mint or assay office of the
United States both gold and silver bullion,
in quantities not less than 5 ounces of gold
or 50 ounces of silver, and demand and
receive therefore coin certificates repre-
senting 81 for 25.S grains Of gold. and 81 foI
4121S grains of silver: Provtded, The gold
and silver hu lion so deposited shall con
tain, by weight in 900 parts 800 parts pure
metal And the Secretary OF the Treasury
shall prepare proper Ger 1tcates and furnish
the same to the various minis and assay
offices of the United States, TO be exchanged
for gold and silver bullion as herein pro-
vided
SEC. . The certificates issued under this
act shall be in such denominations as the
Secretary of the Treasury may prescribe
of less denomination than 81. nor of a
greater denomination than 1000 Such
certificates shall be redeemable at the
Treasury of the United States, or any ofthe
subtreasuries thereo', under regulations
prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury
in either gold or silver bullion, at the
option of the United States.
SEC 8. The bullion reeei ed under this
act shall b. melted into bars under such
regulations as the Secretary of the Treasury
may prescribe: PrOUided, That at least rs,
per cent thereof shall be melted into bars
of not less shan 5000 ounces weight, and be
deposited in the Treasury, or any SUD.
treasury, mint, or assay office in the United
States, in such manner as the Secretary OF
the Treasury may direct
SEC. 4. The coin certificates issued under
the provisions of the act shall be q legal
tender at their nominal value for all dues.
public and private, except where otherwise
expressly stipulated in contracts heretofore
made, and VIII received by the United
States except for the purpose of redemp-
ton, shall be reissued
SEC ). No gold or silver certificates shS3
hereafter be issued, and when any of eitf&
the gold or silver certificates now outsta&
ing shall be received by the United State
aYrar1t for the nf hpinU roHannrofl
they shall be Cancelled and coin certificates
Issued in lieu thereof.
SEC 6 No gold shall hereafter be coined,
except what may be necessary in payment
p, essly made payable in coin; aud no more
silver shall be coined than is necessary to-
use in payment of obligations of the United
States expressly made payable in coin, and
Jar ACTUAL circulation among the people.
The secretary of the Treasury shall have
power to regulate the amount of colnsge
by this section. rw -si-
SEC. z. No se1gnlorage, or charge OF any
kind, shall be imposed for assaying or
refining at the minis and assay Offices of the
United States bullion deposited under the
provisions OF this act.
SEC s. The provisions of the act of
February %, 1870, entitled "An-act to
authorize the coinage of the standard silver
dollar, and to restore its legal-tender
requiring the purchase of not
dollars' worth OF silver per month, and all
acts, or parts of acts, in conflict with this
act are hereby repealed.
OBJECTS OF THE BILL.
Mr.. STEwART-Mr. President, the bill
under consideration is a proposition to
place the finances of the Unite States
on metallic ba is, and to treat both of
the royal metaIS-silyer and gold-as
money metals, and to allow any per
son to deposit at the mint or ASSAY
Office in the United States gold and
silver bullion and receive coin certiG-
Gates there at the rate of 81 for %. q
grains of s:andard gold and 81 for 4l2%
Grains of stan. dard silver. These cer,ifi-
Gates are to circulate as money and be
q legal tender for all debts and liabili-
ties, except such as have heretofore
been contracted payable in coin, and
are To be redeemable at the Treasury,
or any sabtreAsury of the United
States, in either gold or silver bullion,
at the option of the United States.
This option will at times enable the
Secretary of the Treasury to pay out
the chs aper bullion, if there shall be
any difference IN value, aAd thus pre-
vent rapid withdrawal of builiOn
from the country at times when the
balance Of trade is against the United
States. This power il the Secretary
would it is believed, be q conservative
force. and tend to cheek the shipment
of bullion from the country. The Bank
of England accomplishes the same end
by an increase of the rate of interest
After the passage OF this billno more
gold is to be coined than is necessary
TO meet existing obligations payable in
coin. and no more silver is to be coined
than is necessary to meet such obIiga-
tons and supply small coin for
change. CoiniBg money, except for
small change, is expensive, wasteful.
and occasions immense lLss of the pre-
cious metals without any correspond
ing advansa ge in return. 1t is provided
in the bill for meltiRg the bullion re-
ceived under its provisions into large
bars, which will lender storage mex
penage and be an absolute safeguard
against theft. It is believed that the
United States now has an opportunity
to acquire large amount Of gold and
silver as q basis for circulating
medium, which will make-her credit ir-